El Cerrito's Macaroni Grill Closing?

Update: Feb. 24, 2 p.m. Employees at Romano's Macaroni Grill in El Cerrito told Patch Thursday night the restaurant is closing today, Friday, but a regional supervisor at the restaurant today said there had been a "miscommunication" among the staff and that the restaurant will close only temporarily for remodeling at a date not yet determined.

in El Cerrito Plaza is closing today, Friday, restaurant employees told Patch.

The local outlet of the large chain of Italian casual dining restaurants occupies a prominent corner lot at the main entrance to El Cerrito Plaza on San Pablo Avenue.

El Cerrito Patch first learned of the closure from El Cerrito resident Jason Freeman, who said he went to the restaurant last night, Thursday, and was told by employees that it is closing for good today.

When Patch went to the restaurant at dinner time last night, the employee staffing the check-in rostrum confirmed that the restaurant is closing. A manager said it will close today, Friday. She said it was uncertain whether the restaurant's last day of operation would be today or whether it was to be yesterday.

The manager said she couldn't answer questions about the closure and referred questions to a regional representative. The regional representative said she couldn't answer questions and referred Patch to corporate headquarters of Waterloo Restaurant Ventures, based in Vancouver, WA. Patch left a message requesting information on the headquarter's answering machine.

"It is a shame when any local business closes, especially one that employs many people," Freeman said. ""We liked taking our daughter to Macaroni Grill - very family friendly."

He added, "We obviously try to favor locally owned places - perhaps that is why they ended up closing - but we will still miss having this place among our options."

El Cerrito police held a "Tip a Cop" fund-raiser at Macaroni Grill in December, when officer donned waiter outfits and donated tips to the Special Olympics.

An "Patch Picks" selection of five romantic restaurants for Valentine's Day last year by El Cerrito Patch contributor Kyrsten Bean picked Macaroni Grill as one of the choices. The article also offered a brief description of the restaurant: "The restaurant is spacious, with white linens on the tables. The large kitchen can be viewed from the dining area. The menu emphasizes pasta dishes such as such as chicken rigatoni, paired with the chef’s recommended Merlot, and entrees like grilled halibut and center-cut lamb spiedini."